The Intergalactic Exchange Program
by ludwigsgirl97
Summary: You are part of the Intergalactic Exchange Program, and will be housed in the Vantas home, where the elder brother, Kankri happens to take a liking to you. Of course, someone who lives on a planet full of equality and democracy can't stand by and watch your new friends suffer simply because they have red blood. Suck at writing descriptions. Kankri x Reader (I'm a rebel). Language.
1. Chapter 1

You are a part of the intergalactic exchange program of 3,013. You are from Earth, and will be visiting a place called Alternia. Your host family will be the Vantas' and you will stay with them for a little more than two earth years, which constitutes as a single solar year for this planet. You will be learning not only the culture, but the history as well, and will be expected to pass an exam on this in order to graduate from Earth high school on time. Through the power of warp travel, the journey will only take a few moments, and you are grateful for this. The cultures developed so differently, because travel before warp was simply in cryogenics, and took two and a half decades. You'd be an old maid by the time you got home with your new knowledge.

You pack a single bag, and get onto the space train. The car where you are sitting has three other kids, one a girl with soft blonde hair, and two twin boys, with black hair and cold frowns. They will be placed in other exchanges, and you feel kind of sad that the twins will likely be separated. The cheery blonde girl tries to start conversation, and you oblige her, though not with matching intensity, for the entire thirty seconds the ride lasts. Short as it was however, the exchange office, which had given you a scholarship on the grounds of academic success, had likely paid more than your house was worth to get you the ticket. Just because it was fast didn't mean it was cheap. In fact, it usually meant the opposite.

You get off, wishing the girl farewell, as yours is the first stop. You step onto the receiving station, and look around. The family was supposed to be grey, with nubby horns, and black hair. You soon realize that the entirety of this species, is grey, a tone acquired from the fact that they have a sun which is entirely too harsh to go out in. Fucking insta-cancer. You sigh and wish you had asked for a less encompassing character trait. Yes the nubby horns may have been distinguishing, but you had yet to spot them. You were starting to freak out, when a middle aged man approached you, with a smile, and, praise the lord, nubby horns.

"Are you Mr. Vantas?" You ask, and he nodded, a hearty laugh coming from his throat.

"Then you must be_?" He asked, and you nod, sighing in relief.

"I was starting to worry. All I got was that you were grey with black hair." You say, not sure if "Nubby" was a complementary word in this culture.

"I'd never leave someone at a train station, especially a girl. In all seriousness, the number one rule is that you never, _ever_ go out by yourself. Especially a foreigner like you." He said, his joking eyes narrowing as he gave her the warning.

"I never really went out at home anyway. Don't worry."

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the boys. How old are you again?"

"Er…Seventeen Earth years…" You say, "So eight and a half sweeps?"

"I see. So you're right between the boys. Karkat is six sweeps, so about thirteen. Kankri is about nineteen and a half? Well, I suppose you'll have more in common with Kankri. If anyone has anything in common with that boy." Mr. Vantas shook his head, and you wondered what was wrong with Kankri. Was he a pervert of some sort, or just strange?

"OH LOOK, IT'S A FUCKING GIRL. MAYBE YOU CAN FINALLY GET LAID, YOU FREAK!" the younger, Karkat yelled, his voice hoarse. You sigh, asking whatever deities were prevalent on this planet why you had to get stuck with this family of all the trolls.

"You should be more considerate of our new sister, Karkat. She could have a mate of her own at home, or some other such objection, not to mention I would never take advantage of someone stranded from home in such a manner. Must I recite the essay on manners once more?"

"I told you they're a bit much." The adult said, rubbing the back of his neck. They were dressed so differently. The adult wore a cloak, and had on sandals, where the two teens were wearing turtlenecks, Kankri's bright red, and Karkat's black. You had on a tank top, and leather pants, the common attire of Earth girls your age.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Normal teenage boy banter, I suppose." You say, hoping that Karkat wasn't the peeping sort, since his mind seemed to be in the gutter.

"If you say so. Anyway, boys, get in the car. We'll be eating out tonight to show _ what real trolls eat."

"What would this entail? Anything with more than four legs?" You ask, and Kankri is the one to answer you.

"Troll cuisine is quite similar to that of your own culture, if I'm not mistaken, but there is the seven winged beak-pet. It's similar to your human chickens." He said, and you nod. That sounded convenient, actually. You smile, thinking this may not be so bad.

"I have a question for you, _" Kankri asked, and you looked up, showing that he had your attention. "Do you sleep in a bed, or a recuperacoon?"

"A bed. What's a recuperacoon?"

"I see. It is a cocoon filled with a slime, which helps in the sleeping cycle of trolls, especially the youth, whom are often plagued by nightmares. I had tried to research how the room of an average teenage human was arranged, and this was the only discrepancy. It seemed that people attempted to contemporize it now that human has become a fashion trend. I obtained a bed, just in case, and I do hope the rest of the room will be to your satisfaction." He said, and you smiled.

"That was sweet of you. Most kids in the foreign exchange have to live without the comfort of their home. I had a cousin who had to sleep on a pile of rocks for a year, because that's what the people of his host planet did." You say.

"Thank you. I simply wish to ensure that you go home with the highest regard for Alternian hospitality. It would be shameful if you told everyone on your planet that we were all a bunch of beasts who made you sleep in strange green slime. I was unaware if you could even recuperate in the sopor."

"Probably not. Humans and anything other that air usually don't get along. Luckily your planet has breathable air, or I'd have to wear a mask all the time."

"That sounds awful, how do you eat?"

"There are stations that you'd have to take me to, where there is a building that has been made hospitable, just like they have some strange areas on my planet. But it's all in the interest of knowledge, so I guess it's worth it." You say, and his eyes sparkle like he's found the Holy Grail. In the front seat, Karkat rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn't have said that. He'll be talking your ears off for the next sweep." He complained, and Kankri glared at him.

"Should she ask me to cease my lectures, I shall. She is simply not the ignorant, closed minded fool that you have been to turn away my advice at every opportunity."

"You write essays, not have conversations. It's why I need to get a good wife, or the Vantas name'll die off with us. You're idea of setting the mood is an essay on sexual arousal."

"Karkat, try to be less lewd in front of the guest, especially a girl. You're as likely to wind up alone because of your mouth as Kankri is because of his. Both of you are fine young men, and I plan to have plenty of grandchildren from you both. Now can we please stop, and focus on the fact that we're eating delicious food tonight?" the adult said, and both boys pouted as if scolded, though Kankri had done nothing wrong.

"I really don't mind, Mr. Vantas. A lot of people cursed at my planet too, so I've gotten used to it." You tell him, and Karkat perks up. Kankri seems to sink further into depression.

"You should at least have the honor to treat her like a lady, even if she doesn't treat herself like one." The older brother lectured, pulling his turtleneck over his face, though it made the color comparison all the easier. You are confused. Were there not enough women on this planet or something? You had never heard of this problem, though there was a lot going on in the intergalactic news you were unaware of.

But you saw a good number of females, or at least what appeared to be females, they had breasts and hips and feminine faces, at the station. You shook your head, deciding that you would worry about that later. Right now, you needed to be immersing yourself in foreign culture. You watch the city fly by, with lights everywhere, kind of like Tokyo, but with writing you can't understand.

"I don't know why I expected everything to be in English." You say, rubbing the back of your neck. It was the universal language of earth, and so you were used to it being what was used anywhere you went. The strange, sickle-looking letters of troll language confused you.

" I could teach you the language if you like. Until then, I'll read anything to you that you need." Kankri said, face still red as hell.

"That would be good. But if your language is so different, why is it that you speak the same language?" You asked, head cocking to the side.

"As long as we remain in city limits, or in direct vicinity, then there is a translating device which makes us all speak the same language. This is convenient, since so many dialects converge here." Kankri explained, following it up with an explanation of the various cultural groups, calling it an "essay" rather than a conversation a few times. Mr. Vantas turned the radio up, and Karkat growled, but he kept going, and every time he would slips up, you would giggle. At the end, you were so bold as to ask a question, and the two males in the front seat looked back at you with shock, almost causing the adult to swerve and crash.

"Y-you were actually listening to all of that?" Kankri asked, and you were confused.

"Of course. I came here to learn, and you know so much, I'd be silly not to listen to you." You say, and he just smiled at you, moving his sweater back down.

"I-I see. Thank you, then. I am… not used to such interested pupils." He said, looking like the woman he loved had just agreed to marry him.

"Okay, we're here. Since you two are getting along so well, Kankri you can take her to a different table to help her with the menu and things." Mr. Vantas said.

"And so we don't get embarrassed when you start lecturing the waitress on the different species of water fowl." Karkat added, thinking himself quite clever for stating the obvious.

"Fine. But that means I'll be getting time alone with her, Karkat." Kankri smirked, and Karkat turned red.

"What do I care? She's a stupid, icky girl, and a human one at that. She'll probably break if you try and hold her hand."

"Then I'll be very, very gentle." Kankri said, wrapping an arm lightly around your shoulder. You are simply being red through this whole thing, seeing as how he went from an awkward nerd to a suave lady's man simply because he was taunting his brother.

"Erm… Can we just go eat?" You asked, and Kankri resumed his state of redness, before moving away from you.

"I think that I'll be dining alone tonight. At the place across the street. Dad, you can help her with the menu, right? Good. Meet you in an hour." He said, getting out of the car, and running across the street.

"He just went to a fuel station, Dad."

"Maybe he really likes roller food, Karkat."

"Maybe he had his mind on the hoofbeast-sausages?" Karkat chuckled, and his father gave him a glare.

"Come on, we'll have a fine time without Kankri. He can have fun eating roller food for an hour, and spending his entire paycheck." Mr. Vantas said, gesturing that you should follow him into the restaurant, where you were seated at a table in the corner of the room. The Waitress looked at you strangely, not really knowing what to make of a human. Her eyes were green, whereas Mr. Vantas' and Kankri's were red. Karkat's were grey, though they were beginning to have a reddish tint to them.

You look around and see that there are a number of distinct sections, each holding what appeared to be different levels of service. The top one had people in extravagant dress, and you notice that all of them had eyes of shades of purple. After that was the blue, then greens and yellows, then the browns, and then the one you were seated in, which contained reds and maroons.

"What's with the eyes colors?" You ask, thinking you may know why you were looked at oddly. You had dark blue eyes, and those seemed to be fairly high up, in comparison to the reds.

"Kankri would love to explain that to you. Such a smart girl, already figuring out the hemospectrum!" Mr. Vantas said, and you decide that this would likely be best. They didn't seem to want to talk about it, and the waitress was taking your order, this time a different one than had shown you to your place. She had red eyes, and bruises covering her cheeks. You wondered if she had fallen, but something told you that this place was much harsher than the people you had been placed in the care of.

After dinner, a dish that was suspiciously like fried chicken, you went to your new home. A house that was six stories high, like a personal skyscraper, and Kankri was told to show her to her room. It made sense seeing as how he had been the designer of the place. When you walked in, your stomach dropped. There were pink unicorns everywhere, and a twin-sized bed draped in pink in the corner, covered by pink and white stuffed animals. Your eyes starts to twitch until you realize the trouble that went into making this, especially since this didn't seem to be the place to find fuzzy pink things.

"It was very difficult to find fabric to make these with, so I hope that you feel at home."

"You made all of this?"

"Yes. This isn't the sort of place to find cute stuffed earth animals, so I had to make them. My fingers still hurt. In retrospect, a thimble would have been a good idea." He said, showing fingers that were covered in tiny, healing holes.

"Why would you go to all that trouble, Idiot! I would have been happy with a rug on the floor!" you say, tears of guilt springing to your eyes.

"I only wanted to be a polite host, I didn't mean to trigger you in any way. I apologize for upsetting you…"

"Moron! I'm not mad at you, I just feel bad that you went to all this trouble for me. You didn't even know if you'd like me." You say, staring at the floor, cheeks flushed red.

"But you are in a program which is all about the acquisition of knowledge, something that I am quite fond of, being a teacher. I knew that I would like you from the start." He said, and you're eyes go wide.

"So then, you assumed that I would be a good person, simply because I wanted to learn?"

"My only dislike is ignorance, and one who literally goes so far to gain knowledge cannot possess that trait. As such, I assumed that we would at least be able to tolerate each other, as well as the fact that I wanted to be a proper host, knowing that this could be strange for you in that , not only are we a strange species, but also that there are no females in this home. In short, I didn't want you to feel overwhelmed in the sheer lack of femininity, and as such gave you a fairly feminine room. Again, I hope you enjoy." He said, and you smile at him.

"You're sweeter than any earth boy, Kankri. I wish I had met a human guy like you." You say, holding out your arms and giving him a thank-you hug.

"Um… thank you, _. I appreciate your gesture. It is, however, about time for me to retire. I hope that you find the home to your satisfaction." He said, quickly, face red once more, and practically running from the room. You curse as you realize that you forgot to ask him about this "Hemospectrum" thing.

The next morning, the adult of the house, dressed in what seemed to be the same attire as he had worn previously, awaked you for breakfast. You wondered if they simply had a lot of the same thing, or if they hadn't bathed. They didn't smell bad, giving a point to the former option.

You come down in your pajamas, as you always did at home; a tank top, and a pair of loose cotton shorts that came to right above your knee. Karkat looked confused, while Kankri looked ready to die. His face was redder than ever before, and he started chocking on what seemed like a normal earth pancake. You pat his back, and he motions that he is fine, though he starts coughing worse.

"Wow, bro, real smooth." Karkat says, laughing at his elder's pain.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. Trolls are a lot tougher than humans." Mr. Vantas said, drinking coffee from a cup that strangely said "#1 Mom".

"I see…" You say, not really believing it, but also not really having any room to argue as you are given a fresh stack of pancakes, and some warm syrup that smells maple.

You dig in, and then wonder if they have milk, considering they are all drinking black coffee. You think about asking, before a cup of coffee is placed in front of you. You don't even like coffee, but you don't want to be rude, so you down the scalding liquid anyway.

"Would you like something cold? It's obvious you don't drink coffee very much." Kankri asked, having regained his breath.

"Yes. That would be awesome. Thanks." You say, and he goes to the fridge, grabbing out a bottle of some sort of juice.

"Oh, I wanted to know if you would be interested in coming to the schoolroom with me today. I could use you to help teach the kids about other cultures, as well as help you read and write along with them. Most of them are fairly young." He said, handing her a glass of it. It was vaguely like apple juice, with a slight tang to it, and lighter. You decide that you like it, and smile happily.

"Sure. But do your schools not have levels for the different age groups?" You asked, and Kankri sighed.

"Only the upper classes. Technically the lower classes, like the red-bloods, don't even have schools. I just teach the children in exchange for whatever their parents can offer." He explained, and you thought that you should be surprised, and yet it seemed to fit in exactly with what Kankri would do.

"Oh! That reminds me, your father said to ask you about the 'hemospectrum' or something like that." You said, and his eyes light up like its Christmas.

The following half an hour was filled with him telling you about the blood-based caste system, which ruled with an iron fist over the society. He also told you, with a tinge of embarrassment, that his family is so low, that they aren't even technically on it, used mostly for slave labor. The fact that he and his father did un-approved jobs like teaching and preaching, meant that they could be culled at any time should someone find out. You grow worried, as you've already taken a liking to your new family.

"It's why you get such strange looks. Those blue eyes of yours set you as a high blood, but you look so strange, and you hang out with us, so they don't know what to think of you."

"Well, every human has red blood, so we can't really have a caste system based on that, although one of our old cultures used to have a birthright caste quite similar." You tell him, looking down. You had never heard this much of the place. All you had ever heard of it was that it was technologically advanced, being the place the invented warp drive, and light speed before it. The fact that no one ever seemed to leave made you think that they all wanted to be here. Never had it crossed your mind that they had simply been unable to afford to leave.

"I see. Do you see us differently, _?" Mr. Vantas asked, setting his cup down.

"Actually yes." You see, and Kankri looks the angriest, of the three. "But not in a bad way. I see you as even stronger than before. I see you as people willing to go against what they are told, even what could be healthy for them, in order to do what they believe in. I see you as the best kind of people." You said, smiling at them.

"I knew you'd be a good person. Now come on, the children are expecting me."

"I'll go get dressed real fast. Wait please." You say, running back up the stairs to get into a pair of jeans and a black tee shirt.

You follow Kankri from the hive, as he explains that it is too short of a distance to use the car they can't afford anyway. He tells you that picking you up had been the third time they had used it, since his father had bought it when he was born. You feel sad, knowing that back home you would use a car for any little distance, because you could. After about twenty minutes of walking, mostly occupied by him explaining things to you as you walked by them, you reached the rickety shack that was apparently the schoolhouse.

"Teacher!" A swarm of small children, who strangely enough seem to have nubs growing from their sides, ran to you and Kankri.

"Who's the weird lady, teacher?" One of the girls asked, her grey eyes big.

"This is _. She's a friend of mine from another planet. We'll be sharing knowledge with her today. She'll teach us about her culture, and we'll teach her about ours." He said, and the kids looked up at her with all the appropriate awe for unexpectedly coming in contact with an alien.

In the end, you ended up simply telling them the wonders of Earth democracy, and feeling like you were taking part in some sort of brainwashing effort. Not that it was particularly wrong brainwashing, but still a propaganda fountain nonetheless. You finish the day, or rather, night, as the sun began to peak above the horizon. The children had gone a couple hours previously, and you found yourself behind with Kankri teaching you to read.

"Hey Kankri, Tell me that I didn't just take part in some revolution propaganda?" You say.

"You didn't While I do want them to understand that there are other ways to live, I make sure that they no I in no way condone nor tolerate violence. Besides, they're just kids. I'm not the sort of monster who sends children to do my dirty work. He assured you, and you take the explanation, though something still sets uneasy in your throat.

"Either way, it was nice to get to know them. They seemed really nice."

"They're young. They haven't learned the hate of society yet. Hopefully they can keep from ever growing up, though that's a bit unlikely."

"Well, you seem to have managed it. I haven't seen a bit of hate in you, in spite of your less than ideal circumstances." You said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. He blushed, and smiled at you, as you arrived at the hive.

Every day went like this for about two months. You started loosing track since they didn't have a calendar, and you were never any good with dates anyway. It was all the same, but even after so long, you were having trouble getting used to being nocturnal. Every day, you would look out of your window, knowing that you should be asleep, but unable to rise with the moon rather than the sun. You had grown cold away from the warmth of the sun, and it was becoming miserable.

You needed to see the sun again, even if theirs was green and strangely harsh. You had some SPF 100 sunscreen, and a gun, and you decided that this would protect you. It was only a few minutes, after all, just long enough to warm yourself back up. You creep out of the hive, not wanting to wake anyone up, knowing that they slept little enough as it was. A few minutes couldn't hurt.

You stood in the front of the hive, soaking in the rays of the strange sun, when you saw someone walking down the street. You found it odd, since he was obviously a highblood, in his fur fucking coat in spite of the fact that it was burning up outside. He came right to you, and you were shocked.

"Can I help you?" You asked, and he smiled.

"Yes. You can. I'm looking for a fun time, and you just happen to be standing there." He said, looking you up and down. Highblood were pretty blunt, apparently.

"Sorry, that's not why I'm standing here. You should move along." You expected him to leave, maybe in a huff, but still leave. Instead, you felt a sharp sting on your cheek as you realized that he had smacked you.

"You filthy red-blooded impostor, holding my eyes, and yet hiding that filth in your veins. Take out the contacts, now!" He said, and you grew scared.

"I just have blue eyes! They aren't contacts." You argue, though you have a feeling he doesn't give a rats backside if you're telling the truth.

"Lying red blood whore!" He shouted, and full out terror rushes through your body as his hand closes around your neck. You try to scream, but your air is cut off. With only one arm, he lifts you up as you kick, each movement getting weaker as you run out of air.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" You see a group of the citizens of the town coming out in black cloaks, similar to the one that the highblood is wearing, though made of much cheaper fabric.

"And what are you going to do about it?" He asked as your vision started having little spots in it. As if in answer, a shot rang out, and you're dropped. It's Karkat, holding your gun as smoke comes from the barrel. You sucked in air like a vacuum cleaner, staring at the boy as Kankri ran to you.

"Are you okay,_" He asked desperately, and you nod hurriedly, grabbing the gun from Karkat.

"I fired this, understand?" You yelled, not just to the boy, but everyone else. You wouldn't have Karkat dying for you.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think they're gonna let a blueblood death go unpunished?" You squeak, "Do you want you're brother taking the fall for that?"

"The first shot was fired, Kankri." One of the grown men says, red eyes glowing under his hood.

"No! If we resort to violence, we give them what the want."

"What they want is for us to submit, and that's exactly what they are doing. If not before, then now, for you're little brother. If we don't revolt now, he'll be culled." Karkat's eyes went wide, as if just realizing the repercussions of his actions.

You couldn't believe what was happening. You should have listened to them when they told you not to go outside. You see a small elevated platform and step onto it.

"If Kankri will not lead you, then I will." You say, using your best projection voice.

"You aren't even a troll!"

"I know. But I come from a place where everyone is equal. Where you get by not on your birth, but the hard work you put into your life! I may not have grey skin, but I do bleed red, as the best of us do." You picked up a sharp rock from the old unkempt pavement, and cut a thin line along your palm. Your heartbeat like a drum as you did so, knowing there was absolutely no turning back after this.

"And how do you plan to lead us?"

"We'll hit the highbloods while they least expect it. At my culling." You say, and there is a reverberation of shock.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Kankri shouted, running up to you, and shaking your shoulders.

"While they are making an example of me, they won't expect you to be riled up. The point of them is to put you down, and you said that yourself."

"And you think that you'll survive an arrow being fired into your chest? You're a human. You can't do the things that we can."

"I never said that I planned on surviving, Kankri." You said back, and almost regret it as tears well in his eyes.

"B-but you can't die." He whispered, grip on you tightening so much it hurt.

"But I can, and if I can die to save an entire species, then I'll die happily. Please, don't make me sit by and watch this happen. Watch a child die for my sake, watch thousands die so that I don't have to." You said, and he hung his head.

"But…I've fallen in love with you. I can't watch you die when this isn't even your fight." He said, and you're eyes go wide in shock.

"Kankri, please don't joke like that. You'll find a nice troll girl to love. You don't mean it, there are just a lot of emotions going on in you right now and –mph!" He silenced you with a passionate kiss. You returned it, though with much less force.

"It's not a joke, and I could never find someone like you." He said, wrapping you in a tight hug.

"If you love me, then let me do what I have to do. Don't be selfish, and hoard me away at the expense of the people who look up to you. I'll come back. I promise, I'll stay alive." You say, though you know that you likely won't be able to keep it. As you do, a series of men with really big sticks walk into the neighborhood. They all have blue eyes, and black fur cloaks.

"Which one of you pieces of filth killed your superior."

"That would be me." You said, aiming the gun and shooting a couple more for good measure. You gasp as what seems to be a tazer shoots and electricity runs through your body. You clench your jaw as pain wracks the nerves that aren't making you spasm on the dirt-covered ground. Kankri is dragged away before he can retaliate as well, Mr. Vantas deciding that she would be allowed to complete her plan.

"Step away. Any of you seen resisting will be taken into custody with her. Stooping so low as to follow a human." One of the policemen spat, lifting you over their shoulder. The electricity had stopped, but you still couldn't bring yourself to move. You really hoped this worked, and they did a public culling. Otherwise, you would pretty much be screwed, and it would all be for nothing. Either way, you were already far to committed by that point to turn back.

"Why would you let them take her?" Kankri shouted at his father, eyes burning with rage.

"Because that's what she wanted to do, Kankri. Even if you have feeling for her redder than this cursed blood of ours, you can't cage her up like a bird. You have to let her do as she pleases, and hope that part of that is you." He said.

"And where did that attitude get you with your woman? Oh yeah, she's dead!" the eldest son spat, tears streaming down pale grey skin.

"Kankri, that's enough!" The man switched from his normal joking voice to his loud preacher voice as his son finally hit one of his few nerves. "I am your father, and you will respect that fact. Your mother died of a disease, and you know that. Don't hold her up to me because you filled _'s head with so many of your ideologies that she decided to work for them. Just because she's brave enough to die for the world we all want doesn't mean that you get to keep her locked in the fucking basement until all that spirit is gone." He shouted, and Kankri recoiled. His father had never yelled at him, and had never, _ever_ cursed.

"I suppose not." He said, hanging his head, and walking back into the hive, shoulders slumped in defeated despair.

"You're the one who decided that she could take on the hierarchy of an entire race, then?" A woman with magenta eyes, and a giant ass double trident said.

"What of it? I saw tyranny, and I made a move to stop it. That's what someone who has morals does." You replied, expecting the sharp slap that follows the statement.

"You came here, and in two months have done more damage to our society that anyone else has done since the start of time." She growled, lifting your smirking face up with the trident, neck precariously placed between the two prongs.

"You flatter me, Empress." You say back, still smiling.

"You cocky, filthy human! What does someone with your blood think they can do to me?" She raged, and you looked at her dead in the eye.

"I don't think about blood color. Everyone on my planet gets by one their character, not their blood. You rip the trident away from your throat, taking it from her by surprise. Before she can do anything, you shove the golden weapon through her chest, and her eyes go wide as guards file in. they are all in shock, but they can't do much about it. Who would give them the order, now that their empress lay dead on the floor, magenta blood pouring out from her wound. Perhaps letting one of her heiress' live would have been a good idea.

It was a week later, and, you suppose luckily, you were scheduled to have a public culling, where everyone would come to watch. You were lead to the crucifixion pole, where blue-eyed men with rough hands, and grim expressions clamped irons around your hands. It didn't seem to bad, until they started to heat up. At first it was merely uncomfortable, but as people started filing in, you could feel it searing your flesh. You struggled not to cry out, wanting to appear strong.

Through eyes blurred with tears of agony, you saw a man lift a bow, and pull back.

You heard the thwack of the arrow digging onto your stomach before you felt it.

You cried out, tears falling from their precarious perch on your eyelids as you hear a familiar voice cry your name.

You can't see anything now, because you have your eyes clenched shut, but you hear a gun go off.

There is a massive uproar as the low bloods fight for control. You hear various shouts as one side or the other gets a hit in.

You hope that you've ushered in victory as it quiets down, but you're lightheaded, and can barely think.

You know that you've won when the irons are released, and you fall into gentle arms.

"You promised, _. You can't die." It's Kankri, and you allow yourself to pass out, knowing that you're safe now.

You're name is (full name). You are eighteen years old today. And you are the savior of the troll race, and soon to be Matesprit of Kankri Vantas.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing you noticed was the pain that coursed through your veins like half-molten lead, heavy and agonizing, but not to the point of searing. It was worst at your side, below your ribcage, and around your wrists. The second thing you noticed, as you opened your eyes, was that you were laying on a stone slab turned into a bed, a white blanket draped over you, covered in red splotches. You were disgusted for a moment, thinking that you were lying in someone else's blood, until your memories rushed back to you: Darkleer and his bow, the rebellion, falling asleep in Kankri's arms. All of it slammed into your head like a train. The stone bed was in a small room, the slab, about the size of a twin-sized mattress, nearly touching the other side of the wall. There was a single candle fighting noblely against the darkness of what appeared to be a large, damp cave. As your vision focused, you found that there was another patch of red, belonging to a sweater worn by a familiar face. Kankri, who was currently sleeping, his head lolled toward you as he snoozed in a cheap wooden chair.

Simply his presence made the pain coursing through you lessen, and then you frowned as you saw that he had a bandage wrapped around his forehead as well as a small cut on his cheek. Without really thinking, you went to touch it, simply tracing the red line across his cheek in a whispering caress. Even this, however, stirred the light sleeping lowblood, and soon your eyes were met with crimson orbs and a smile.

"You've finally woken up. I'll go grab you some food. The medic said that your wound is mostly healed, so you just need sustenance." He said, stretching and getting up before you could get your mouth to work. Now that he mentioned it, you did feel weak, and starving. As if on cue your stomach did it's best lion impersonation, and quite the inspirational quality in that the retreating red-blood heard it as he closed the curtain that quartered you from whatever population inhabited your current home.

As he left, you sat up; your entire abdomen feeling like there was a giant bruise. You lifted your raggedy shirt, looking more like a tunic from the medieval period of human history, threadbare and stained off-white. You're skin was pale and you could see ribs sticking out where a fighter's muscles used to be, back when you were a fencer in your high school's team. You were number one in every competition, and it had been this scholarship that had paid for your trip to Alternia. Now, you had lost every ounce of fat and muscle, barely alive. But then again, you had an arrow fired into your body, and had essentially survived crucifixion, a feat larger than most. You had large scars covering your wrists where the irons had been, pebbled skin rising up in the rough patterns only created by horrible burns. But they had not gotten infected. You couldn't even remember the pain of any of the events, simply that they had happened, merely the safety and comfort you had felt in Kankri's arms.

He walked back into the room, a tray with a large hunk of bread, some cheese, and various pieces of fruit, as well as a glass of water. You dug in greedily, offering him some, which he kindly refused. Instead of making any comments, god or bad, he simply watched you eat, and you simply ate, not really noticing the silence over the sound of desperate chewing, the kind only used by the starving. It wasn't until you were done that you were able to talk, and ask him questions.

"How long have I been out?" you asked, still swallowing the last of the strange, overly sweet orange he had brought you. The food had done you well, and you could feel energy returning.

"Almost a month and a half." He answered, causing you t choke as you swallowed down the last of it, coughing for a moment, while he had a distressed expression.

"An entire month? How does that even happen? How did I not starve to death?" You shouted, blue eyes wide and newly obtained energy going straight to aggression.

"We fed you some mush everyday. Well, I did. It takes a while, but it was that or let our leader starve to death while she was injured." He answered, becoming alarmed when you jerked up, throwing the blanket from yourself, and standing up even though the movement hurt like hell, and you felt like your own deteriorated body weighed twice as much as it used to.

"Dammit, why would you leave an unconscious chick as your freaking leader? Especially when I'm barely an adult, and you have plenty of people more capable than me?" You asked, leaving the room, though you had no idea where you were going. Outside the room, you were shocked to find a small group of people with more on their way. Karkat was one of them; his eyes sparkling with happiness, though his face kept it's usual scowl. While his eyes were still grey, the beginnings of his family's crimson was starting to show in them, as well as the fact that he now stood up straight, rather than his normal slouch.

"Why are all of you crowded here?" You asked, having no clue what would prompt them to do so, until a young girl, hair in black pigtails, her grub legs still disappearing, walked up to you with a bright, rusty blush.

"Um…W-will you sign my book?" She whispered, holding out a small book about a red butterfly that became blue. It was based on their class system, and was the closest thing to freedom to move classes that you had seen. You shrugged, and took her pen, writing your name on the cardboard pages. She smiled bigger than you had ever seen a child smile, and scampered off to her group of friends, all of them giggling in delight.

"Kankri what did you tell these people? Why are little kids asking for my autograph?" You demanded, assuming he had to have told them some kind of lie or exaggeration.

"They're just happy to see out leader is well again, _." He answered, smiling behind you, his hand twitching with the want to touch yours, or wrap around your hip, but not knowing where you stood.

"Well, someone fill the leader in, then. How did I end up in a cave, and where do we stand on the rebellion." You asked, figuring that whatever bullshit he fed them was there to stay at this point. To this question, a large, brown-blood stepped forward, his horns being nearly as big as you. He had a sword of proportional girth, and you were vaguely afraid of him, until you remembered that he was on your side.

"We won the original battle, but one isn't gonna win a war. We're still fighting, and we had to retreat to an underground base just outside town. By the way, you have to stay in this half of the building, or no one will be able to understand you. The translator gets iffy this far out." He said, grinning in spite of the fact that he had bandaged over the entirety of his right eye.

"I see. And who's been acting as temporary leader while I was taking my month long nap?" You ask, hoping the joke will lighten the mood, which had since dropped.

"Kankri has been tactical leader, with myself acting as the military leader. That is, when he wasn't sitting next to you like a puppy with a sick master."

"I was assuring that our leader as well as my Matesprit was well, of which there is no shame. I had ever right to do so, especially since I had nothing much to do with the military operations, seeing as how that was your job. All I ever did was give speeches that no one listened to." He said, scowling at the jesting warrior.

"Isn't that the damn truth? I mean your father could talk, but you just go on and on." He laughed, and everyone else chuckled a bit to, though at the mention of the name, the mood seemed to become even more somber.

"Where is your father, anyway?" You asked, hoping that the gloom surrounding him didn't mean what you thought it did. But nothing had gone as you thought since you got here, so why would it now?

"In the first attack, they singled him out as the leader, and he was shot by the Orphaner himself." Kankri spat, grey fists clenching white.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch myself." You growled, though your legs were starting to tremble simply from standing for this amount of time.

"You won't be killing anyone any time soon, fearless leader. You'll get well, get your strength back, and when _I_ say, you can go into battle." The brown-blood said, smiling at you, and patting you on the head like a child.

"Don't treat me like a little kid, bastard!" You snapped, glaring at him.

"You've been with Karkat too long, with that mouth." He joked, and you just gave him the look that could have stabbed out his other eye.

The crowd slowly introduced themselves, though Kankri and your warrior friend stayed with you, as you sweated with the exertion of simply holding yourself up. As the last little child gave you a tight hug, you collapsed, both men catching one arm, and holding you up. You passed out, pale and gasping for breathe.

Time passed, nearly a year, and everyday you got stronger. You stood in the operations room, planning out various attacks with your two advisors. Kankri never touched you in public, and never did anything that crossed any sort of boundaries. When walking and running were no longer challenges, your warrior, whose name was Razian, decided that sword practice was in order. Kankri wanted you to learn guns; instead, so that you wouldn't be in the heat of battle, but after finding out that you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, that idea was abandoned.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Razian taunted, both of you layered with sweat as you caught your respective breaths, blades in hand. He had his giant great sword, and you had a smaller, faster rapier.

"No, I have two eyes." You answered, knowing that he didn't mind the playful banter.

"That was harsh, for someone who's pink and squishier than the mush she eats." He retorted, coming at you with speed greater than that one would assume a man of his size possessed. You, being much more agile, however, avoided it easily, and lashed out with your smaller weapon, hitting the fencing vest he wore so that your faster movements wouldn't injure him.

"I win again." You gloated, grinning and grabbing the large bottle of water next to you. He frowned, doing the same.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep bragging. Just remember who taught you to fight in the first place." He said, and Kankri walked in, holding two bowls of heart stew. The two of you dug in, stuffing your faces.

"Sometimes I forget that females on your planet are supposed to be dainty." Kankri told you, and you raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sometimes I forget men on your planet are suppose to be taller than women." This was a jab at the fact that he was actually exactly the same height as you, and shorter than any troll other than his own little brother.

"Shut up! That's not something I can help!"

"Neither can I help being more masculine than you think I should be. I can't very well command a bunch of fighters if I can't fight myself." You answered between gulps of half-chewed food.

"I suppose so. By the way, you were both wanted in the operations room when you quite rolling around like greased up human pigs." He said, and you horridly ate the rest, before challenging Razian to a race, his long legs against your agility.

In the end, surprisingly, Kankri won, though he was not a part of the race, and yourself and the warrior were deemed a tie. You wondered how it was that Kankri had been able to outmaneuver you. From what you understood, he was just a teacher. He sat in front of the children and talked for a living.

"Kankri, aren't you suppose to be in briefing?" one of the others who ran the room with you, making sure that all of the signal suppressors were fully operational, seeing as how that was the only thing that kept your little base from being overrun with highblood armies.

"Wait, briefing?" You asked, and he slapped his palm to his face, glaring at the man.

"Yes. For the mission I'll be going on this afternoon." He sighed, and your brows furrowed.

"You never told me we were sending our fucking teacher, the only one who can educate our youth, on dangerous battle missions." You growl at everyone in the room, and the technology manager stood up, seemingly annoyed by this.

"Every man must pitch in. he eats, so he has to risk his hide like the rest of us." The other man spat back, the two of you standing breast to breast, glaring at each other.

"Fine then. I eat more than him, so I'll be doing double quotas. If he's not to essential to this operation, than neither am I."

"I've been saying that for months, you selfish bitch." He snarled, trying to use his height to intimidate you, seemingly not realizing that you sparred with the largest man in the compound for fun.

"You know what, I don't think I've ever seen _you_ go out of the compound, either. Perhaps you'll be going on my first mission with me. A daytime mission, since that'll really hit them where it hurts." He grabs you by the collar of your rough tunic, and lifts you up off the floor.

"That's enough!" Razian shouted, backhanding the man. "You are a subordinate, so start acting like it."

"And there is no way that we'll be able to allow our leader into an average battle situation." Kankri said, grabbing you by the shoulders, and shaking you slightly.

"I'm going to rescue the prisoners of war, just like we had planned. The only difference is that I'll be with them, and I'll scout it out while the sun is up." You say in a voice that resounds finality.

"Dammit, why are you so stubborn?" He said, his voice no longer angry, but concerned.

"Because if I wasn't, I would be dead." You answer, storming out of the room to prepare for your first mission.

You were wearing the suit that you had been given the day you awoke. The uniform of your men with a few changes. Like theirs, yours was a long tunic with slits up to the hips, with silken tights beneath, having just enough slack to allow a full range of movement, but not nearly enough to cause drag. They wore a dark purple, with a crescent moon on it, whereas yours, being more ceremonial in intention, was bright yellow, with a sun on the breast. You pulled your hair back, and sighed as you looked at the black boots you would wear for the first time. The blade that you would carry not for the hell of it, but so that you could draw cool-toned blood with it.

You were thinking of what you would do, the jitters of voluntarily risking your life coming back for only the second time in your life. Because of your thought, you didn't notice when the curtain to your room was opened, reveling Kankri.

"You don't have to do this, you know." He said, making you jump a little.

"You remember that first day you took me to see the children?" You asked, avoiding his question.

"I do. I remember every moment I've ever spent with you like it was yesterday." He answered,

"Then you remember the adoring looks in there eyes; the fact that you were their role model, their favorite person in the whole world? You remember that you are a teacher, and a preacher's son. You are not a fighter, Kankri, so why would you go out and risk death? Why, when you mean so much to everyone around you?" You said, turning to face him with tears in your eyes.

"I could ask you the same question. When you walk in the room, simply having gotten to see you makes everyone's day. You're nearly a deity to these people, and yet you decide that you're going to go out on the most dangerous mission we've done since your little crucifixion fiasco." He said, wrapping you in his sweater-covered arms.

"I can't let them down. It's because they see me as great that I must prove myself. But you have something outside death, Kankri. You're their teacher, their inspiration and their healer. Blood is the only thing they see in me, in you, they _don't_ see blood, of any color, and that is what makes you great." You whispered, and he simply wrapped his arms tighter in response.

"I love you," he mumbled into your hair, followed by moving your head so that his lips could reach yours. To your surprise, you felt his tongue probing at them, and as soon as the momentary shock had worn off, you opened them, heart speeding up as he yanked you flush against him, and dominated the cavern of your mouth. Your fists moved to his hair, longer than usual, and clawing into it, panting. He moved his mouth from yours, instead choosing to kiss down your neck.

"You. Are so? Beautiful." He said, in between kisses, stopping where your shoulder began and biting down hard enough to draw candy red blood from your skin. You gasped, and in doing so, bucked further into his body, which was fairly firm for a teacher of small stature.

"W-what brought this on?" You asked, shoving away from him, panting like a dog.

"The thought that I might lose you. I had always taken everything slowly, telling myself that we are young, and have plenty of time, but we may not. And I'm gonna use what we have to the fullest." He said, his voice lower than you remembered, and a predatory smirk on his lips. On the one hand, you had that it was the sexiest thing you had ever seen, and on the other, you had that this was completely unlike the composed scholar.

Without words, you spelled your agreement as you jumped into his arms, wrapping legs around his hips as he walked the both of you over to the stone slab that was your bed. His warm hand slipped beneath the tunic, lifting it over your head. Your pale pink skin blushing red, you gasped as he cut to the chase to fast. He licked a line of red saliva from your belly button, between your breasts, and up to the space between your collarbones, placing a small nip there.

"Damn, Kankri. How many girls did you have before I showed up?" You asked, wriggling at his seemingly expert movements.

"No one. What kind of troll do you take me for?" He replied, a bit out of breath himself. If there had been room, you would have flipped him over, but nearly any movement would have landed you on the floor. You sighed, deciding to simply sit up and take him with you instead. He was a little shocked, and was easily made to be laying below you, though he had to hold his head up lest it fall over the edge. You pulled his sweater off, reveling relatively chiseled muscles, and the strange fact that he had neither a belly button nor nipples.

You gave his left horn an experimental stroke, wondering if they were perhaps the replacement for the sensitive buds of human men. His eyes rolling back into his head, as well as the wanton moan confirmed your theory, and you smirked, happy to have control once more.

"Not…fair…" He panted, hips starting to move up into yours, ashen face bright red in the throes of passion.

"Neither is sneaking up on me. We're both dirty cheater."

"What your doing is dirty, alright…" He said, removing your arm, and twisting you so that you were facing the sky on top of him. His hands moved to cup and knead your breasts for a moment, before moving down to slid a hand in your tights while the other assisted in slipping off his own. As he started moving his fingers against your most private of areas, he smirked and you groaned, rubbing your battle-toned ass against him. After only a few moments of this, he moved you again, this time ending up back with him on top, and behind you. "But I can be _far_ more obscene."

Your eyes went wide as you felt a wet, wriggling _something_ against your sex, and you cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure as he jerked himself in. It should have been blinding agony, what with the size and your lack of experience, but the odd slime which covered the alien appendage as it thrust like a train seemed to keep you from feeling that pain, instead, causing you to feel release coming faster than you ever thought possible.

By the end of things, you had released three times, the final dragging him with you, red-tinted goo filling you up. As everything calmed down, the pain in your hips started to set in, but had no time to register fully as you passed out in his strong, but still naked, arms.

The next morning, you grumbled as your hips felt the pooling of throbbing pain, and you smacked Kankri on the head, waking him up. He jerked, falling off the bed, and into the stone of the floor. How you both fit in it to start with was a mystery anyway.

" You know that the mission isn't until three days from now. You haven't stopped me." You tell him, wondering if this was his reasoning.

"I could do it every night, then you'd be sore the day of." He answered, getting up and looking you in the eye with a small smile.

"As if. You're cut off until I come back. And what the fuck was with the biting. There is _blood_, Kankri." You stare at him accusingly.

"Trolls are a rough species. You're lucky you're my Matesprit, not my kismesis. They get pretty messed up sometimes."

"What the hell is that?" you asked, grabbing a towel from your small drawer. It was usually for working out, but it would have to work.

He explained the entire romantic system, including the fact that he was expected to fuck someone else.

"Well, good thing we don't do that in our new order." You said, putting your clothes on and throwing him the towel, "I refuse to share, and in my culture we only have one. You belong to me, and only me, my cute little teacher."

"Actually I'm pretty sure that I gave the dominance mark, the biting, so it is _you_ who belongs to _me_." He argued, walking over to his own clothing. You scowled and walked up to him, biting his shoulder just hard enough to leave a small mark, though not draw any blood.

"There."

"No, it doesn't work that way. I did it during intercourse, and I did it first, and this is the most pathetic mark in the history of dominance marks. No one will even see it." He said, and your temper rose.

"Are you fucking judging me on the fact that I can't do the kinky troll things you do? People on my planet don't DO that shit."

"You know how I feel about cursing."

"And you know how I feel about bleeding, but you didn't give a fuck about that, did you?"

"Calm down. It's only once. Then it'll scar, and we're together."

"Wait, it's supposed to scar?" Your voice squeaked out. He had basically given you a permanent hickey, and it made you want to bash your head against the cave wall.

"Of course. It's similar to a human wedding ring, I suppose. It shows you as being unavailable. Of course, some won't respect that, seeing as how it is possible to break up a matespritship, but it is very unlikely, and will ward off most rivals." He explained, and you almost passed out. Again.

"SO WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST GET ME A FUCKING RING, YOU DICK?" You shouted, hands twitching with the urge to punch him.

"Where am I supposed to get one? We don't even have gold on this planet, so it would have to be imported, and would cost more than the entirety of this revolution's budget. And either way, most trolls don't know this practice, and all we need is people hitting on you." He defended, and you sighed, trying not to have a rage stroke.

"Fine. But help me find something to cover it up with, it's embarrassing." You said, still equating it to earth standards. Only whores went around showing off hickeys, and you were not one.

"Are you embarrassed of me? Do you regret last night then?" He looked like he was about to cry, and you sighed again.

"What, no, but you can't just walk around with a hickey. It's indecent, perhaps even triggering, as you would put it." You tapped your foot, and he pouted.

"Well, they can deal with it. I want everyone to know that you're mine, and that mark is the only way that they will know for sure." He said, like an indignant child, even stamping his foot.

"So it means more to you than political correctness? Fine. But I'm kicking anyone who makes a snide comment in there, whatever that thing you got going down there is."

"Fair deal." He said, yawning, as you walked out, limping really.

You were once again suited up in your room, this time ready to go. You had your blade in your hand, and your boots on your feet, ready to head out. It would be just you and Razian, and the prisoners once you had freed them. Because there were roughly twenty men you were going to save, you didn't feel the need to bring a large party with you. You gave Kankri a quick kiss before heading out, your warrior following you out.

The trip to the city was easy enough, seeing as how it was nothing but bare field, sparsely covered in grasses among dunes of coarse sand. The sun was high in the sky as you stood on the outskirts, looking at the guarded entrance. You grinned as you saw the two moons starting to move in front of it, a rare double solar eclipse. It would be to your advantage in that you and the lowbloods were much less sensitive to the light; however, any highblood caught out in it would be blind in no time. Holding the cloak tightly over you, just in case, with grey make-up covering you, and false horns upon your black-died hair, you walked up to the guards.

"And who are you?" A man with green blood asked, and you scowled at him, blue eyes glaring.

"Someone of much higher blood than you, so step aside, so that I can bring in this dangerous criminal, unless of course you'd rather me set him free?" You had Razian chained up, and growling, to look like a prisoner.

"But…"

"Hurry up before that blasted eclipse, unless you want to be responsible for a highblood death, and meet your own, filthy moss-blood." You growl, and he lets you through. You yank at the chains, and your warrior reluctantly followed you. You moved quickly, going for the keep in the center, where you had been held prisoner. You knew that they relied on the thick doors to keep them safe, and that they would give the keys to any highblood who seemed to have a semi-legitimate reason. It would be all too easy, really.

You walked in, taking the cloak off, and walking up to the desk, where a blueblood sat, his eyes widening in shock as you approached.

"How did you manage to catch this one?" He asked, and you smirk, trying to look as confident and cocky as you could.

"I have my ways. Now give me the keys and the bounty, so I can lock this bastard up." You said, and he nodded, hanging you the key ring.

"The Orphaner himself will want to congratulate you." He said, and you smirked wider.

"Good. Nothing better than an audience with the Emperor." You said, dragging your "prey" behind you into the cellblock. Down in the prisons, two stories below ground, you let Razian go, sticking your rapier through the single guard posted there.

The others were shocked, until they recognized your face. You told them to be quiet as you started unlocking all the doors, and noticing that chains were now placing in them. Those were soon gone as well, and you had a group of twenty-four behind you when you wiped the make-up off, and removed the horns. You couldn't do much about the dye right now, but they should recognize the skin tone, which was your intention all along.

You went back up, and the day watchman was shocked as he led his monarch into a room full of enemies.

"And here you said that she had captured a rebel leader. She is THE rebel leader, you dunce." Dulscar said, pulling out his gun. A sharply aimed rock from one of your companions got rid of that plan, bending the muzzle to leave it unfireable.

"I'll be taking my friends back, you crazy fish." You snapped, drawing your sword and standing in front of them, wishing you could have come up with a better heroic one liner than that, but figuring that it would have to work.

"I don't think so. If you're under the impression that I would let the leader of the biggest thorn in my side of them all go, you've fried what little was in your pathetic human mind." He said, laughing in spite of the fact that his weapon was gone.

"I don't think you have a choice here."

"I have an army, and you have twenty half-starved prisoners." He said, and you stood a straight as you could, pointing a blade at him.

"How about we settle it much easier. A one on one, Oh Great Emperor?" You suggested, and Razian simply looked alarmed, but didn't speak out.

"Very well. Fetch me my blade." You stood there, staring at him as the watchman ran out, returning a few moments later with a long, sharp blade. There was a dragon decorating the hilt, in fierce battle with what looked like some kind of octopus, perhaps the horror terrors Kankri had told you about.

"Then let's go. You win, we all die, I win, you let us all go as your purple blood stains this pretty white floor." You say, and he nodded, coming at your with lightning speed. You sidestep him, and scowl as you realize that you were both speed fighters.

You shot out your foot, nearly tripping him on the ridiculous purple cape he insisted on wearing. He responded by landing a kick to your face, sending you flying into the wooden desk, breaking it apart. He walked up to you, and you blocked the blow of his sword, your own rapier digging into your hand.

"And you even have a Matesprit, do you? Wonder how much they'll cry when I throw your mangled body from the city gates, my sign carved into the body he thought was his." Dulscar taunted, and you did what you told Kankri you would do to anyone who made a snide comment. You kicked him in the crotch, causing him to step back, eyes watering in intense pain.

"Don't even mention him." You growl, your attacks growing faster with each passing second. The violet clad monarch was clearly on the defensive, until he drew a small dagger from his belt, shoving it into your stomach.

"_!" Razian called, but didn't interrupt.

"Thought that I only had one weapon, did you? Of course I carry a belt dagger, perfect for smiting filthy peasants." He gloated; laughing so hard he threw his head back, and closed his eyes. You took this opportunity to flick your rapier out, and sever his over inflated head from his body, purple blood gushing everywhere like a demented fountain.

"Thought I'd sit there and let you gloat? Should have asked your predecessor how well that works out." You say, falling to your knees. At this point there is no doubt that you've won, and the bluebloods around you drop their weapons in surrender. You smirk, telling the others that there is no need to return to the base, other than to tell the others that you've won.

You heard Kankri call your name as he ran into the room where you stood as one of the ex-prisoners who were a medic was putting fresh bandages on your nearly naked torso. You saw the glare that Kankri gave her, but you gave him a look that told him not to start.

"So we finally won, then?" He asked, and you smiled big.

"Yup. I only had to kill two friggin' emperors for it to happen, but the other highbloods have agreed to give up, with the Grand Highblood himself signing the treaty."

"I knew you could do it." He said, giving you a kiss on the cheek.

"Uh-huh. Sure." You rolled your eyes, but kissed him as well.

"Okay, so I was a little worried…" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"So remember that democracy thing I told you about?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna try it out?"

"Why not?" He smiled, nuzzling into your neck, wrapping you in his arms from behind, and making you feel safer than ever before. Victory was sweet.


End file.
